fishing worm

1 2.5

A worm that people use as bait to catch fish

noun
/ˈfɪʃɪŋ wɜrm/

: gusanillo de pesca

He dug in the garden to find fishing worms for his fishing trip.

Examples

"I earned money from digging fishing worms when we lived in Schuylerville."

Fiction book (1995)
A fishing worm is a great choice for catching bass and trout.
Anglers often use a fishing worm as bait to attract fish.

Synonyms

worm

vsfishing worm

301 1.0

A small soft animal without legs that lives in soil or water

is the focused term for land worms used as bait that burrow and aerate soil

earthworm

vsfishing worm

14 1.3

A small long worm that lives in soil and helps make soil healthy

is the broader bait category rather than this specific biological term

crawler

vsfishing worm

2 5.4

A small worm that lives in soil and is often used as bait for fish

is the general label for such soil-burrowing bait worms without this common name

nightcrawler

vsfishing worm

1 7.0

A large earthworm that comes out at night and people use for bait

is broader and covers soil-burrowing bait worms generally, not only large ones

sandworm

vsfishing worm

1 7.2

A worm that lives in sand, used as fishing bait or shown in stories as a giant creature

is focused on soil-burrowing land worms rather than sand-dwelling shore varieties

red worm

vsfishing worm

1 2.1

A small red earthworm that lives in soil, helps make soil better, and people use it as fishing bait

is broader and includes larger soil-burrowing bait worms, not only small red ones

bloodworm

vsfishing worm

1 7.8

A small bright red worm from the sea that people use as bait

describes land-dwelling bait worms that burrow in soil rather than marine types

wiggler

vsfishing worm

1 7.2

A small worm that lives in soil and is used for fishing bait

is the general concept for soil-burrowing bait worms beyond this colloquial name

segmented worm

vsfishing worm

1 5.1

A worm with a long body made of many ring-shaped parts like an earthworm or leech

is specifically about soil-burrowing bait worms and their role in aerating earth

lug

vsfishing worm

1 9.9

A small worm that fishermen use for bait on the shore

covers terrestrial soil-burrowing bait worms rather than marine gilled species

lugworm

vsfishing worm

1 8.2

A sea worm often dug up and used as fishing bait

is restricted to land-dwelling bait worms that burrow and aerate soil

angleworm

vsfishing worm

1 8.7

A common earthworm used as bait for fishing

is the general term for any soil-burrowing bait worm, not this common name

lobworm

vsfishing worm

1 9.9

A large sea worm with small tufts on its sides used as fishing bait

is limited to land worms that burrow in soil and improve soil aeration

fishworm

vsfishing worm

1 6.3

A worm, often an earthworm, used to catch fish

is the general term for a soil-burrowing bait that aerates the earth

nightwalker

vsfishing worm

8.8

A large worm used for fish bait that comes out at night

is more general, applying to any soil-burrowing bait worm rather than this size

dew worm

vsfishing worm

8.9

A large earthworm that comes out at night or when the ground is wet and people use for fishing

is the broader category for soil-burrowing bait worms beyond this night behavior

How Large

nightcrawler

1 7.0

fishing worm

1 2.5

earthworm

14 1.3

red worm

1 2.1

Surface Forms

fishing worm singular

fishing worms plural

Morphology

fishing + worm

The meaning 'a worm used as bait for catching fish' is directly and predictably built from 'fishing' (the activity) modifying 'worm' to indicate purpose. This purpose-driven modifier + noun pattern is a regular, cross-linguistic compositional construction, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Fishing worm comes from the simple image of a worm put on a hook for fishing. Anglers would dig worms from wet soil to use as 'bait' so 'fish' would bite, so the name means a worm used for fishing.